“There is no downtime and it will be more demanding in terms of my recovery.

“In Ireland, I benefited from more rest. After four or five matches in a row, I knew I could take a break. Here, I don’t have that luxury.”

As Schmidt himself says, there is a familiar look to the long list squad announced but there is room for tighthead Jack McGrath, who has started the season brilliantly for Leinster, and for Leicester’s Niall Morris.

“Selection was difficult as it’s the first time we have had to narrow our focus a bit and determine a cut off point for players,” Schmidt explained.

“A number of selections were very tight which is positive.

“The group is predominantly ‘tried and proven’ but with some newer faces as well.

“It’s an opportunity to get to know the players as well as an opportunity to have a look ahead and start to get a little bit of organization done for the Guinness Series.”

The Kiwi added: “There are a number of players such as Tommy O’Donnell, Michael Bent, Stuart Olding, Andrew Trimble, Craig Gilroy and Felix Jones that were not considered due to injury.

“But some of these players may well be involved in the autumn as they return to full fitness and resume playing.

“There are also a few players who have not yet had many opportunities to make an impression and a few youngsters who have been impressive in the early rounds of the Pro 12 that we’ve left to keep working with their provinces.

“There is no doubting the challenge that autumn presents but we’re looking forward to getting a little bit of a head start this weekend”